How To Stay Motivated When Training For A Cycle Event

There will be times during your training for an upcoming cycling event where you will feel you lack motivation and enthusiasm for the task ahead. Here are six tips to help you overcome these feelings and stay motivated throughout your training for the event.

1. Focus on your goal

Although completing the event itself will be your main long-term goal, you may find that when you start to train many months in advance, the event will feel like a lifetime away. You then run the risk of slipping into the unwanted mindset of putting off your training until the last minute. Instead, you should keep yourself motivated throughout your training by breaking the main goal into smaller, more manageable steps.

Set yourself achievable goals such as aiming to ride for a certain distance. Then once one goal has been completed, you will gain the confidence to push on and achieve your next, slightly more difficult target. By choosing many short term, realistic goals then your training will progress accordingly and you will be taking the necessary steps towards be able to complete your desired event.

2. Train as part of a group

You will be surprised at how much further you can push yourself during training by just being in the company of other people. Riding with a group is a great way to find motivation through a more competitive environment. You should also take the opportunity to practice riding in a group situation to learn the etiquette expected. It is a good way to prepare yourself for the environment you will face on the day of the event.

Riding with a group is a great way to find motivation through a more competitive environment.

The people you are riding alongside during your training will encourage you to dig deeper and push forward. It is also a lot easier for you to talk yourself alone out of completing a ride than it is to let down one of your mates or make up an excuse as to why you can’t go out with your cycling club.

3. Change your routine

In order to stay motivated during your training, it is vital that you keep your workouts varied. Cycling the same route over and over will quickly become tedious and you are less likely to continue if you are not enjoying training. Try training indoors and outdoors, mix up your long rides with strength and flexibility training and also take part in other sports alongside cycling.

You could also arrange to meet up with a friend at a certain place (a suitable distance from your home) and cycle to meet them there. This way, you have the motivation of knowing you have to be somewhere at a particular time and will therefore be more likely to go out and reach your destination. It is vital that you vary your training so that your fitness progresses and you do not get bored. 

4. Use a tracking app

A great way to keep up with your progress and monitor your goals is by using a tracking app. You will likely find more motivation if you can see a tangible example of your rides and your fitness progress. An app can provide you with detailed and accurate insight into your routes, performances and lets you monitor your individual goals.  

Using an app can be useful in helping you to plan different cycling routes to help keep your routine varied...

You can then work out what you need to do to keep progressing with your fitness. By seeing the exact distances you are completing on your rides, you will also see how much further you have to push yourself in training in order to complete your anticipated event. Using an app can also be useful in helping you to plan different cycling routes to help keep your routine varied, therefore providing you with more motivation for rides.

5. Listen to music during your turbo sessions

Studies have found that when listening to music, feelings of fatigue can be diverted, and the distraction can help you to push through those difficult times. We’re not recommending riding outdoors while listening to music because of the safety risk, but instead during indoor turbo sessions. Music can seriously raise your mood and listening to pumped up tunes can often enough to help you find that extra bit of motivation you need to continue with your training.

The tempo of the music you are listening to can help you increase your cycling pace, but the lyrics of a song are just as important to motivate and inspire an individual. Music acts as a distraction to your brain, if you are concentrating on the song you are listening to, you block out external cues and are more likely to find your zone and complete a successful training session.

6. Give yourself enough time to rest

Allowing your body adequate time to recover is just as important as the exercise itself. One reason why you might be finding it so difficult to motivate yourself when training for an event could be a result of overtraining. Training too much will leave your body feeling exhausted. If you find yourself unusually tired and your muscles constantly feel fatigued every time you go out on your bike, you could be pushing your body too hard.

Through overtraining you are considerably more likely to pick up injuries and could end up seriously reducing your chances of competing in your chosen cycling event. It is essential that you remember to schedule time for rest periods in your training plan, to sustain motivation and ensure you are well prepared for your chosen event.